Legal Complaints Procedure, Clear Guidance, Manchester

We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details. We will also let you know who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within two working days of receiving your complaint.

We will record your complaint in our central register and open a file for you. This will be done within a day of receiving your complaint.

We will acknowledge your reply to our acknowledgement and confirm what will happen next. You can expect to hear from us within a day of your reply.

• Andrew Haworth will consider your complaint again and will then send you a detailed reply or invite you to a meeting to discuss the matter. This will happen within 10 days.

• If someone else acted for you, Andrew Haworth will ask them to provide a reply to your complaint within five days. Andrew Haworth will do this within a day.

• Andrew Haworth will examine the reply and the information in your complaint file and may also speak to the person who acted for you. This will be done within three days of receiving the reply and the file.

• We will ask another independent local solicitor to investigate your complaint and report to us. This will be done within three days.

• Andrew Haworth will then write to you, inviting you to meet him and discuss and resolve your complaint. This will be done within three days.

Within two days of the meeting, Andrew Haworth will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed upon. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Andrew Haworth will send you a detailed reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter. This will be done within five days of completing his investigation.

At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you can write to Andrew Haworth again. Andrew Haworth will then arrange to review his decision. This may happen in one of the following ways:

Andrew Haworth will review the decision within five days.

Andrew Haworth will arrange for someone who is not connected with the complaint to review the decision. This will be done within 10 days.

Andrew Haworth will ask the local Law Society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint within 10 days. He will inform you how long this process will take.

Andrew Haworth will invite you to agree to independent mediation within five days and will inform you how long this process will take.

Andrew Haworth will let you know the result of the review within five days of its completion. At this time, he will write to you confirming the final position on your complaint and explaining the reasons. You will also be provided with the contact details of the Legal Ombudsman. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your complaint.